Raptors rely on youth, second unit to cruise past Pacers in potential first round playoff matchup

With the Raptors seemingly locked into the second seed in the Eastern Conference, there was no need to risk injury in a game that wouldn't affect the Raptors' playoff positioning.

DeMarre Carroll played for the first time in 41 games Thursday against his previous team, but was held out of the second game of a back-to-back Friday for precautionary reasons.

It would have been a daunting task for Carroll, as the Pacers grade out as one of the premier defensive teams in the NBA.

"They do it a different way that they used to, they used to just beat you up. But now they do it with technique, quickness, speed and athleticism," said coach Dwane Casey. "We gotta make sure we do a good job of getting open, making easy plays, not trying to make it complicated."

Carroll wasn't the only Raptor held out. DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola also had the night off, giving the youngsters some rare and much needed playing time against a playoff-caliber team.

Rookies Delon Wright and Norman Powell got some run with the majority of the team resting, and both had career nights.

Powell continued to impress since being inserted into the starting lineup, finishing with a career high 27 points and added six rebounds and four assists en route to leading the Raptors to a 111-98 win.

"He did a good job in transition and caught them back peddling and he has that other gear to go," said Casey. "He's one of the fastest guys on the team and he gets guys back peddling, does a good job of attacking and getting them in a compromising situation and getting fouls."

That aggressive tendency led to 19 free throw attempts for Powell, the most attempts in franchise history for a rookie.

Wright chipped in a career high 19 points on a healthy 6-for-10 shooting. "They came out and played. That's one thing you don't have to worry about is effort and intensity. I thought our young guys came out and played with a lot of effort and intensity."

"The players that played for them are good players. They are not as big of names as the guys that play regularly; they have good players but still no excuse for how we played," said Pacers coach Frank Vogel. "We wouldn't beat anyone tonight."

Backup point guard Cory Joseph also had one of his most effective nights as a Raptor. The Canadian dropped 18 points and dished nine dimes despite wearing a protecive mask after taking a hit to the nose against the Hawks on Thursday night. His only miss on the night came at the free throw line, where he went 4-for-5. He didn't miss a shot from the floor.

The Raptors were lights out shooting the ball, draining 45.5% from deep and 54.4% overall on a night where they were overlooked by a desperate Pacers squad.

"This team played hard," said Pacers forward Paul George. "They came out and just played harder than us. There's nothing else to say; they just played harder."

Yet Indiana is stumbling into the playoffs, and their performance against a nonchalant Raptors team should give the team reason to worry, even if they need just one more win out of three to book their ticket to the postseason.

Indiana is fighting with Detroit for the right to face the Raptors in the first round. Detroit's win against Washington tonight thrust them into the 7th seed and allowed them to clinch a playoff berth in the East with two games remaining.

More NBA coverage from Yahoo! Sports: